A Killer Christmas At Honeychurch Hall

'Just the thing to chase the blues away' M. C. Beaton Following the butler's death and the cook's retirement, the ever-gullible Lady Lavinia replaces them with a power couple who are determined to thrust the crumbling estate into the 21st century. The Dowager Countess reluctantly agrees to hold a big-ticket Christmas gala and silent auction with a mystery celebrity flying in from Monaco as the guest of honour. Needless to say the newcomers' make a few enemies in their quest to change the status quo and when one body is discovered in the Victorian stumpery and a second, in the ha-ha, it seems that their high-flying past is catching up with them. Meanwhile, Kat is dealing with the theft of a valuable doll that had been earmarked for the auction. When it turns out that all the ticket money has vanished and there never was a celebrity guest, it's up to Kat to save the day and bring the cold-blooded killer to justice. Praise for Hannah Dennison: 'The perfect classic English village mystery but with the addition of charm, wit and a thoroughly modern touch' Rhys Bowen 'Downton Abbey was yesterday. Murder at Honeychurch Hall lifts the lid on today's grand country estate in all its tarnished, scheming, inbred, deranged glory' Catriona McPherson 'Will delight fans and new readers alike' People's Friend 'A fun read' Carola Dunn 'Sparkles like a glass of Devon cider on a summer afternoon' Elizabeth Duncan

In Hannah Dennison's Murder at Honeychurch Hall, Kat Stanford is just days away from starting her dream antique business with her newly widowed mother Iris when she gets a huge shock. Iris has recklessly purchased a dilapidated carriage house at Honeychurch Hall, an isolated country estate located several hundred miles from London. Yet it seems that Iris isn't the only one with surprises at Honeychurch Hall. Behind the crumbling façade, the inhabitants of the stately mansion are a lively group of eccentrics to be sure—both upstairs and downstairs —and they all have more than their fair share of skeletons in the closet. When the nanny goes missing, and Vera, the loyal housekeeper ends up dead in the grotto, suspicions abound. Throw in a feisty, octogenarian countess, a precocious seven year old who is obsessed with the famous fighter pilot called Biggles, and a treasure trove of antiques, and there is more than one motive for murder. As Iris's past comes back to haunt her, Kat realizes she hardly knows her mother at all. A when the bodies start piling up, it is up to Kat to unravel the tangled truth behind the murders at Honeychurch Hall.

In this delightful new mystery our heroine Kat Stanford stumbles upon a hidden room in an abandoned wing at Honeychurch Hall. However, Kat's initial excitement soon ends in horror. There, lying on the cold, stone floor, Kat comes across the body of a young woman dressed in an Egyptian toga and wearing a tawdry fairground trinket around her broken neck. Suspicion falls on some of those who live at the Hall - both upstairs and down - and even those who are just had been passing through. Matters come to a head as a killer lurks amid the aristocracy . . . Downton Abbey fans will want more Killer Balls at Honeychurch Hall. Praise for Hannah Dennison: The perfect classic English village mystery but with the addition of charm, wit and a thoroughly modern touch. (Rhys Bowen) Downton Abbey was yesterday. Murder at Honeychurch Hall lifts the lid on today's grand country estate in all its tarnished, scheming, inbred, deranged glory. (Catriona McPherson) A fun read (Carola Dunn) Sparkles like a glass of Devon cider on a summer afternoon. (Elizabeth Duncan)

'Just the thing to chase the blues away' M. C. Beaton When a body found on the Honeychurch Hall estate proves to be that of a villager who had supposedly moved to Ireland years earlier, tongues start wagging and theories abound. Charlie Green had always been a rogue. Although Charlie's demise happened well before Kat's arrival, Kat is drawn into the mystery when she finds two rare miniature portraits hidden inside a custom-made dollhouse of Honeychurch Hall. And then Charlie's aunt suffers a mysterious fatal fall and suspicion lands on a stranger who is holidaying in the newly installed shepherd's hut in the walled garden -- one of Lady Lavinia's latest hare-brained moneymaking schemes. Although there is something off about the tourist, Kat believes the culprit is fellow antique dealer. With tales of blackmail, infidelity and greed gripping the small community, past and present collide and Kat realises that the miniatures harbour a vital secret that one particular person is willing to kill for. Praise for Hannah Dennison: 'The perfect classic English village mystery but with the addition of charm, wit and a thoroughly modern touch' Rhys Bowen 'Downton Abbey was yesterday. Murder at Honeychurch Hall lifts the lid on today's grand country estate in all its tarnished, scheming, inbred, deranged glory' Catriona McPherson 'Will delight fans and new readers alike' People's Friend 'A fun read' Carola Dunn 'Sparkles like a glass of Devon cider on a summer afternoon' Elizabeth Duncan

'Just the thing to chase the blues away' M. C. Beaton Mistletoe and murder at Honeychurch Hall... It's ten days before Christmas at Honeychurch Hall and Kat Stanford has persuaded the Earl of Grenville to open the Museum Room to the villagers in an effort to raise money for rooftop repairs. For the price of a ticket visitors will be able to view an unusual display of antiques - including the legendary Bleeding Hawk of Honeychurch Hall. When an obnoxious young couple drive 200 miles from London to view the treasures it's not just Kate who is suspicious of their intentions; Mr Chips, the estate's feisty Jack Russell makes his feelings plain by taking a bite out of the man's trousers. But then a suit of armour inexplicably falls on the ancient butler, killing him, and when a second body is found near a quarry nearby Kat becomes entangled in a world of feuds and jealousies, finally encountering a cold-blooded killer who will stop at nothing to keep the past at bay. Praise for Hannah Dennison 'Will delight fans and new readers alike' People's Friend 'The perfect classic English village mystery but with the addition of charm, wit and a thoroughly modern touch' Rhys Bowen 'Downton Abbey was yesterday. Murder at Honeychurch Hall lifts the lid on today's grand country estate in all its tarnished, scheming, inbred, deranged glory' Catriona McPherson 'A fun read' Carola Dunn 'Sparkles like a glass of Devon cider on a summer afternoon' Elizabeth Duncan

Deadly Desires at Honeychurch Hall is the second charming and witty whodunit in Hannah Dennison's amazing cozy series. Set at an English manor house, fans of British mysteries and Downton Abbey are sure to enjoy this contemporary take on murder at the manor house. When the body of a transport minister is discovered in the grounds on Honeychurch Hall, suspicion about his unusual demise naturally falls on the folks in the village. After all, who could possibly want a high-speed train line built in their front yard? News of the murder soon reaches our heroine Kat Stanford's nemesis Trudy Wynne. A ruthless tabloid journalist and the ex-wife of Kat's discarded lover, Trudy is out for revenge. She is also interested in exposing—and humiliating—Kat's mother Iris, who is secretly the international bestselling romance writer Krystalle Storm. As the body count begins to build, Kat becomes inextricably embroiled in the ensuing scandal. Is the minister's death the result of a local vendetta, or could it be connected to her mother's unusual (to say the least) past?

'Just the thing to chase the blues away' M. C. Beaton Spring is in the air ... and so, too, is the sound of music as the residents of Honeychurch Hall are stunned to learn that the Dowager Countess Lady Edith Honeychurch has agreed to the staging of a production of The Merry Widow in the dilapidated grand ballroom. Fears that the fiercely private octogenarian must be going senile are soon dismissed when our heroine, Kat Stanford, learns that the favour is a result of a desperate request from Countess Olga Golodkin. As one of Edith's oldest friends Olga is the director of the amateur Devon Operatic Dramatic Organization. Just a week before, D.O.D.O's original venue was destroyed in a mysterious fire but since tickets have been sold, costumes made and lucrative local sponsorships secured, Olga is determined that the show must go on. After decades at the helm of D.O.D.O., The Merry Widow will be Olga's swansong and she wants to go out with a bang . . . Praise for Hannah Dennison: 'The perfect classic English village mystery but with the addition of charm, wit and a thoroughly modern touch' Rhys Bowen 'Downton Abbey was yesterday. Murder at Honeychurch Hall lifts the lid on today's grand country estate in all its tarnished, scheming, inbred, deranged glory' Catriona McPherson 'Will delight fans and new readers alike' People's Friend 'A fun read' Carola Dunn 'Sparkles like a glass of Devon cider on a summer afternoon' Elizabeth Duncan

2023 Spur Award Winner * Historical Novel Society Editor's Pick "Appealing characters match satisfying puzzles. Historical fans will be delighted." —Publishers Weekly Sometimes you can't keep your gown out of the gutter... Inez Stannert has reinvented herself—again. Fleeing the comfort and wealth of her East Coast upbringing, she became a saloon owner and card sharp in the rough silver boomtown of Leadville, Colorado, always favoring the unconventional path—a difficult road for a woman in the late 1800s. Then the teenaged daughter of a local prostitute is orphaned by her mother's murder, and Inez steps up to raise the troubled girl as her own. Inez works hard to keep a respectable, loving home for Antonia, carefully crafting their new life in San Francisco. But risk is a seductive friend, difficult to resist. When a skeleton tumbles from the wall of her latest business investment, the police only seem interested in the bag of Civil War-era gold coins that fell out with it. With her trusty derringer tucked in the folds of her gown, Inez uses her street smarts and sheer will to unearth a secret that someone has already killed to keep buried. The more she digs, the muddier and more dangerous things become. She enlists the help of Walter de Brujin, a local private investigator with whom she shares some history. Though she wants to trust him, she fears that his knowledge of her past, along with her growing attraction to him, may well blow her veneer of respectability to bits—that is, if her dogged pursuit of the truth doesn't kill her first.